Gauging device



Jan. 31, 1939. D. A wALTERs GAUGING DEVICE Filed sept. 21, 1937 f.Patented Jan. 31, 1939A PATENT OFFICE y 2,145,841HA f GAUGING nEvlcEDeanA. Walters, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Willys- Overland Motors, Inc.,Toledo, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application September 21, 1937,Serial No. 164,920

Claims. (Cl. 33-181) This;invention:` relates to'gauges and more paryticularlyI t0 gaugesf of a character adaptable fory facilitating; thepositioning or assembling of gear mechanism or.y other mechanicalelements. In

f 5 themanufacture; or assemblyy of axle drivemechvanisnror` gearing, itis highly desirable, if not absolutely essential, that the driving,gearA properly"y mesh with the driven gear. To obtain this properenmeshment, the pitch ylines of the drivmging, and driven gears shouldcoincide and the assembly off the drivingv and driven gears in an y faxle: drive of an automotive vehicle presents i dicultiesy indetermining4 the respective; proper Y positions; of these gears..l Thecomplexities of the' problem are, aggravated byrreason of the use offshims to adjust, one or both ofthe gears making up a gear set or drive;

-An object of' this invention is the provision Y of va-.fgauge orlgauging means for quickly and 2'0, accurately determining the propersetting or positioning of the driving gear with -r driven gear.

Anotherr object of the provision of azsimple; yetreiective gauging meanswhich is not! only adapted for enlcient use in properly setting; thedriving. gear when the unit is initially.I assembled, but which isparticularly adaptable wherever service replacements,y are neededv inorder to properly position the driving g-,gear soi that eicient; andrquiet enmeshment of the gears; maybe had.

Another object of; the invention'resides in the provision` of a gaugingmeansv that. may be utilized;` rwit h;diier ent sizes of gearsv andwhere wvarious sizesof; bearings are used to support the f 4.,., rtherobjectsand advantages are within the 'scoper of; this invention. such asre-latetoV the arrangement, operation and function. of the relatedelements of the structure, to various details ot @instructionv and,vto.- combinations of parts, 50; elements per se; and toeconomiesofmanufacture and; numerous: other features as will. be apparent fromV aconsideration of the specification anddrawing ofia4 form of theAinvention .winchv maybe` preferr er,d in which:l

Figure iis.y a.` horizontalk sectional view of a respect to a inventionresides in the* housing and driving pinion assembly of typicalconstruction showing. the gauging means of my invention in a position ofuse;

Figure- 2 is a plan view of the gauging means of my invention;

Figure 34 is a sectional view through the gauging means takensubstantially on the line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional detail View taken substantially on the line 4-4of Figure 2;

VFigure 5 is a fragmentary view showing the use of a gauge of myinvention with a structure having diierent bearing size.

While I have shown the arrangement of my invention as utilized asgauging means for positioning driving pinions for drive axleassemintegrally' formed a driving pinion I6 adapted for enmeshment witha driven or main gear I1, the position of which is shown in dotted linesin Figure 1f. The shaft l5 adjacent the pinion I6 carries the inner raceI8 of a tap-ered roller bearingl having rollers I9 and an outer race 20.Spacedfrom this bearing structure is a second roller bearing structure22 comprising an inner race 2-3` mounted directly upon the shaft I5,taperedv rollers 24, and an outer race 25. These bearing structures areso arranged as to resist both the radial load and longitudinal thrust ofthe. driving pinion.

Interposed between the inner races I8 and 23 respectively of thebearings is a spacing collar 21 which serves to separate the bearingstructure. The projection IIV of the housing I0 is providedv withinwardly extending annular shoulders 30' and 3l which form seats orabutments for the outer races 20 and 25 of the bearings respectively. Ashereinafter explained, shims 32 of varying thicknesses may be insertedbetween the outer race 20 and the shoulder 30 in order to properlyadjust the position of the driving pinion I6, and shims 36' may beinserted between the bearing spacing means or collar 21 and one of theinner bearing races as hereinafter the member 35 and a threaded nut 39which,V

when drawn up, holds the driving pinion in engagement with inner race 23of bearing meinber 22 against the spacing collar 21. The extremity ofthe projection Il of housing I0 is provided with an oil seal in the formof a sheet metal cup-like member 4I within which is positioned anannular sealing member 42 of felt or other suitable material which isheld closely in engagement with a projecting portion of member 35 bymeans of a coil spring 43.

The portions I2 and I3 of the housing, which enclose and are secured toaxle housings or tubes 45 and 46, are provided with semi-annular bearingseats 48 and 49, each having a shoulder 5D and 5| adapted to receivebearings (not shown) for supporting the vehicle axles.v

The bearing seats 48 and 49 together with the shoulders 50 and 5| serveto accurately positionY bearings which carry the differential structureand associated mechanism (not shown) and as the bearing seats 48 and 49are accurately machined about the center line C of the axles, theseseats provide a satisfactory locating point from which may be determinedthe adjustment or proper setting of the drive pinion I6.

The gauging means or structure of my invention is inclusive of a bodyportion having laterally extending projections 56 and 51 which aresubstantially in alignment. 'I'hese projections are bored to snugly yetslidably receive a gauge pin orshaft 59. The projection 51 is providedwith an extension 60 having a laterally extending abutment 6I forming agauging surfaceV for a purpose to be hereinafter explained. The end ofshaft 59 adjacent the projection 60 is under-cut or relieved as at 62 inorder to eliminate close machine work on the lateral wall of projection6U adjacent the end of the shaft 59. There is provided an opening 53 inthe shaft which is adapted to receive a cotter key 64 to prevent theinadvertent removal of the gauging shaft from the body member 55.

It is to be noted that the body member is preferably of hollow formationto decrease the weight of the gauge structure. The portion 515 isprovided with a pluralityr of cylindrical gauging surfaces, there beingtwo illustrated designated 65 and 66, thesurface 65 being the gaugingsurface employed or contacting one of the axle supporting bearing seats49 from which a gauge indication may be had as hereinafter explained.The other extremity of the member 55 is formed with a cylindrical tenon58 upon which is snugly yet slidably supported anv annular collar ormember 10 which is provided with gauging surfaces 1| and 'l2 which inthe gauge illustrated have the Vsame respective diameters as those ofgauging surfaces 55 and 66. In the illustration in Figure 1, the

Ygauging surface 1i is adapted for engagement with the axle bearingsurface 48 `which with surface 65 engaging bearing Ysurface 49 form thebasic locating points or surfaces to determine the relative position ofthe driving pinion I6. It is to be noted that during gauging operationsthe end of gauge shaft 59 is spaced from the inner wall of the lateralprojection 6Il to admit the insertion of a thickness or feeler gauge.

In the use of the gauge of my invention with the radii of curvature ofthe surfaces 65 and 1I the same as the radii of curvature of the bearingseats 48 and 49, the gauge is positioned as shown in Figure 1 with thesurfaces 55 and 1I in engagement with the axle bearing seats and theextremity of the gauge pin 59 in engagement with the face of drivingpinion i6, which has been preliminarily assembled as illustrated inthedrawing. With the pin 59 in contact with the pinion bearing i6, athickness gauge is inserted in the slot or space S occurring between theother end of the pin 59 and the lateral projection 5i. The gauge is soconstructed that the width of slot S is normally a fixed dimension as,for example; a gauge of .010 inch thickness snugly fits in the slot forthe correct setting or positioning of the drive pinion l5. Thus, byinserting thickness gauges in the slot S, a directY indication is givenas to the thickness of shims 32 and 36 which must be inserted vor takenout so as to properly position the bearing race 29 which in turndetermines the position of the pinion I6. For example, if the constantor fixed width of slot S with the driving pinion l 6 in the properposition is .010 of an inch, and it is found that upon the applicationof thickness gauges inserted in slot S that the slot is .014 inch inwidth, this indicates to the gauge User that a thickness of .004 inch inshims 32 and 36 must be inserted between the race 20 and the shoulder35, and between spacing collar 21 and race 23 in the housing to bringthe driving pinion I6 to its proper position for enmeshment with themain driven gear i1.

FigureY 5 illustrates the use of the gauge with Y an arrangement whereinthe axle supporting bearings are of a different dimension, in whichconstruction another series of surfaces may be utilized as positioningpoints for the gauge mechanism. In this arrangement the bearing seat 48is of a radius equal to the radius of the cylindrical gauging surface12Y so as to properly position the gauge in a housing constructionhaving smaller axle supporting bearings. When the surfaces 55 and 12 areused as illustrated in Figure 5, the collar 19 may be movedlongitudinally so that the surfaces '65 and 1| project into the interiorof the housing so `as, to permit thel surfaces 66 and 12 to be properlyand effectively utilized as gauging surfaces. While I have illustratedtwo sets of gauging or locating surfacesV arranged in stepped or echelonrelation, that is, surfaces of the proper diameter to accommodatedifferent axle bearing supporting surfaces, it is to be understood thatany number of locating surfaces may be provided and utilizedin thismanner without departing from the scope of the invention.

It is apparent that within the scope of the invention, modifications anddifferent arrangements may be made other than is herein disclosed, andthe present disclosure is illustrative merely, the inventioncomprehending all variations thereof. Y

What I claim is:

l. An apparatus for determining the position of a driving gear in adifferential housing comprising, in combination, a body member; a gearengaging member movably supported uponr the body member; meansassociated with said body member engageable with bearing seats in adifferential housing for positioning the body member with respect to thedifferential housing, said body member having a projection positionedadjacent but spaced from said gear engaging member, the position of thegear engaging member With respect to said projection indicating therelative position of the gear in the housing.

rality of means associated With said-body mem- Vber having locatingsurfaces engageable with f bearing seats in a differential housing forposihousing.

tioning the body member with respect to the differential housing, saidbody member having a portion positioned adjacent but spaced from saidpinion engaging pin, the position of said .pin with respect to theportion of the body memberl positioned adjacent thereto indicating therelative position of the driving pinion in the 3; A gauging meanscomprising va body mem- Y ber having a bore therethrough; a workengaging member movably mounted in the bore, said body member having arelatively fixed locating surface; a movable element carried by the bodymember providing a relatively movable locating surface, said body memberhaving a projecting portion normally spaced from the end of themovable'work engaging member, the position of the Work engaging memberwith respect to the projection determining the relative position of ytheWork.

' 4. A gauging means comprising a body memberv having a boretherethrough; a Work engaging member slidably mounted in the bore, saidbody member having a relatively fixed cylindrical surface; a movableelementcarried by the .body member and having a relatively movablercylindrical surface, said body member having va projecting portionnormally spaced from the end of the Work engaging member when the latteris in contact with the Work, the position of the work engaging memberwith respect to the projectiondetermining the relative position of thework.

L gear, the position of the gear engaging member d, `with respect to theprojection determining the relative position ofthe gear.

6. A gauging means comprising a body member having a bore therethrough;a Work engag- Q f ing Vmember movably mounted in the bore, said memberhaving a fixed locating surface;

, an element movably carried by said body member and constituting amovable locating surface, said body member having a projecting portionnormally spaced from the end of the Work engaging member when the latteris in contact with the Work, the position of the work engaging memberWith respect to the projection determining the relative position of thework.

7. A gauging means comprising a body member having a bore therethrough;a work engaging member movably mounted in the bore, said body memberhaving a fixed locating surface;

an element carried by said body member and constituting a movablelocating surface, said body member having a projecting portion normallyspaced from the end of the gear engaging member when the latter is incontact With the Work, the position of the gear engaging member withrespect to the projection determining the relative position of the gear;and means carried by said gear engaging member to hold the same in saidbody member.

8. An apparatus for determining the position of a driving pinion in adifferential housing including a gauge frame member having a boretherethrough; a pinion engaging plunger slidably mounted in a bore insaid frame member, said frame member having a projecting portionnormally spaced from the extremity of said plunger; means carried bysaid plunger for slidably retaining the same in the frame member, saidframe member being formed with a relatively iixed cylindrical gaugelocating surface.

9. An apparatus for determining the position of a driving pinion in adifferential housing including a gauge frame member having a boretherethrough; a pinion engaging plunger slidably mounted in a bore insaid frame member, said frame member having a projecting portionnormally spaced from the extremity of said plunger; means carried bysaid plunger for slidably retaining the same in the frame member, saidframe member being formed With a yrelatively fixed cylindrical gaugelocating surface; and a relatively movable gauge locating surfaceslidably mounted upon the gauge frame member. f

10. An apparatus for determining the position of a driving pinion in adifferential housing including a gauge frame member having a boretherethrough; a pinion engaging plunger slidably mounted in a bore insaid frame member, said frame member having a projecting portionnormally spaced from the extremity of said plunger; means carried bysaid plunger for slidably retaining the same in the frame member; saidframe member being integrally formed With a series of juxtaposed gaugelocating surfaces; a cylindrical portion formed on said gauge framemember; and an element slidably mounted upon the cylindrical extensionof the frame member provided with a correspondingly spaced series ofgauge locating surfaces.

DEAN A. WALTERS.

